Worker rights & OSHA

What you can do about unsafe work and unpaid wages — written for tree crews.

This is educational information, not legal advice.

It explains general rights and practical steps under federal rules. Deadlines and protections vary by state and by your situation. For advice about your own case, talk to an employment lawyer, your union representative, or your state labor agency. Nothing here creates a lawyer–client relationship.

Document unsafe equipment or a Z133 violation

Do this first
  1. 1Photograph or video the hazard before it is fixed or hidden: frayed climbing line, cracked saddle, missing chain brake, no chaps, bald tires, damaged crane rigging, uninspected aerial lift.
  2. 2Write down the date, time, job address, crew present, the equipment ID or truck number, and the specific practice that was unsafe (for example: no aerial rescue-capable second climber on site, energised conductors inside the minimum approach distance, no eye and face protection while chipping).
  3. 3Report it in writing to your foreman, safety officer or owner — text or email, so there is a timestamp. Keep a copy on your own phone, not just the company device.
  4. 4Note whether the hazard was corrected, when, and by whom. If it was not corrected, note who told you to keep working.

ANSI Z133 is the tree care safety standard. OSHA can cite an employer under the general duty clause and other standards when Z133 practices are ignored.

Refusing work in imminent danger

  1. 1You can refuse a specific task when a reasonable person would conclude there is a real danger of death or serious injury, and there is not enough time to get it fixed through normal reporting.
  2. 2Ask your employer to correct the hazard and make clear you are willing to do the work once it is safe. Do not simply walk off the job site.
  3. 3Stay available on site unless staying is itself dangerous, and put your refusal and the reason in writing the same day.
  4. 4If you are disciplined for refusing, that is potentially retaliation — see below and act quickly.

This protection is narrow. Ordinary hazards you can report and wait on do not qualify; do report them anyway.

Retaliation / whistleblower protection — OSHA Section 11(c)

  1. 1It is illegal for an employer to fire, demote, cut hours, reassign, threaten or otherwise punish you for reporting a safety problem, filing an OSHA complaint, reporting an injury, or asking for records.
  2. 2You generally have only 30 days from the retaliation to file an 11(c) complaint — this deadline is short and strict.
  3. 3File by calling 1-800-321-6742 (1-800-321-OSHA), contacting your local OSHA area office, or using the whistleblower complaint form online.
  4. 4Bring your timeline: what you reported, when, to whom, and what happened to your job afterwards. That timeline is the case.

Filing an OSHA complaint

  1. 1Online: submit the complaint form at osha.gov/form/complaint — the fastest route, and you can attach photos.
  2. 2By phone or in person: call 1-800-321-OSHA and ask for your area office. Phone complaints can trigger an inspection too.
  3. 3By paper: the OSHA-7 form (Notice of Alleged Safety or Health Hazard). Download, fill in the hazard details, sign, and send or fax it to your area office. A signed complaint is more likely to lead to an on-site inspection.
  4. 4Ask OSHA to keep your name off the notice given to your employer — you can request confidentiality.
  5. 5Describe hazards specifically: how many workers exposed, how often, what equipment, what training was missing.

State-plan states run their own OSHA programme (for example California, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina). The federal number will route you.